Chapter 1

Chemistry – study of the composition of substances and the changes they undergo Organic chemistry – study of carbon (C) containing substances. Inorganic chemistry – study of non-carbon containing substances.

Analytical chemistry – concerns the composition of substances. Physical chemistry – concerns theories and experiments that describe the behavior of chemicals. Biochemistry – study of the chemistry of living organisms.

Define the Problem Gather Information  Determine facts, if possible  Make detailed observations Propose Solutions Organize Information and look for Patterns Hypotheses Evaluate your Proposed Solutions Test your Patterns by using them to Predict What Will Happen (a.k.a. – perform experiments)

A process of studying natural phenomena that involves making observations, forming laws and theories, and testing theories by experimentation

Make Observations Qualitative  Descriptions Quantitative  Measurements Formulate Hypotheses Possible Explanations for Observed Characteristics or Behaviors Perform Experiments Test Hypothesis

Repeat the process until we get a well-tested explanation Theory  a set of assumptions put forth to explain some aspect of the observed behavior of matter May need to be modified or discarded as new information (observations) becomes known

While experimenting we may observe the same behavior all the time, and therefore be able to predict this behavior will always occur in the future Natural law  a generally observed behavior Without explanation as to why the behavior occurs!

Natural laws predict what will happen Theories explain why something happens